Flowers along the road

I learn a lot about macro photography from reading Rob Sheppard's book on the subject and reading his blog posts.  I remember reading a chapter on capturing subjects in their environment.  Each summer, I try that with the wild flowers I find along the road where I walk.  I like finding these little spots of colour.  These plants are tough and resilient. These are my favourite from this year so far:

morning glory

wild rose

Western Salsify

"Just living is not enough... one must have sunshine, freedom, and a little flower."

Hans Christian Andersen

Creativity

I am always amazed by the different ways there are to create a garden.

"My garden of flowers is also my garden of thoughts and dreams.  The thoughts grow as freely as flowers, and the dreams are as beautiful."  Abram L. Urban

A mill town

I have been thinking about the difference between art photography and journalistic photography.  (Sometimes the two combine in one photo, but I'm a long way from that.)  I was visiting a small city recently where the paper mill had shut down a few years ago.  This is a place I knew well many years ago.  While the residents strive to keep their town vibrant, the signs of economic hardship once the major employer left town are all around.  I decided to try a photo essay.

This was the main street between downtown and the old high school.

A former donut shop

 "People in small towns, much more than in cities, share a destiny."  (Richard Russo)

Legislature

Recently I spent a rainy Sunday afternoon at the legislature in Winnipeg.  I was fascinated by some of the small details that started jumping out at me once I started looking.  I'm sure I will be going back there whenever I can. ( I was surprised at how busy that place is on a Sunday!)

Detail on the door knobs.

Ceiling details
 

 

"Architecture is the learned game, correct and magnificent, of forms assembled in the light."  Le Corbusier

Raspberries

"One of the most delightful things about a garden is the anticipation it provides."  W. E. Johns

 

Black and white photography

They say it's important in photography to be able to "see" in black and white.  Lately I've been experimenting with this "seeing" exercise.  It isn't easy.  There is a quote about black and white photography that I really like:  "When you photograph people in colour you photograph their clothes.  But when you photograph people in B&W you photograph their souls" (Ted Grant). I wonder if this holds true for buildings as well.

 

Beauty in the ordinary

I found these boxes piled up against a building and thought the texture they created was beautiful.  I think they're used for trapping.

Morning walk

A morning walk yielded some photos:

"The pictures are there, and you just take them."

Robert Capa

A dog

Just too cute to resist:

Bugs

"Do what we can, summer will have its flies".  Ralph Waldo Emerson

Well ... they're not flies, but close.

Rust

One of my favourite photographic subjects is rust.  I love the colours and textures.  I love to go exploring with my camera and finding beauty in the ordinary, mundane things that I find in friend's yards.

 

 


“Nature holds the beautiful, for the artist who has the insight to extract it. Thus, beauty lies even in humble, perhaps ugly things, and the ideal, which bypasses or improves on nature, may not be truly beautiful in the end.”

Albrect Durer.

My garden, up close

My favourite time to be in the flower garden is early in the morning.  My favourite subject is the small spots that bring out the beauty of the garden that we rarely see unless we look closely.

 "If you take the time to really look at simple things you will come to realize that they really are beautiful."  Anon.